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Nanobot Rock’s Top 10 (More Like 15) Discoveries of 2017

2017 will be forever remembered for many different things; some bad, some good. It was a shifting of the tides the world over. Yet, within the daily experiences we have the solace of music. In 2017, there was a lot of great music to guide us. With a very special thanks to all the artist who work so very hard to provide us with their art, here is Nanobot Rock’s Top 10 (more like 15) discoveries of 2017:

#10 Billy Momo – Umbrellas, wings and magic things
Swedish seven-piece musical visionaries Billy Momo graced 2017 with a three-track EP titled Umbrellas, wings, and magic things. To follow up their previous release with just three tracks would seem ill-advised, but for Billy Momo, it would only take a single track to make an impact. We got three.

#9 Sweet Jonny – Spanish Fly
Punk is loud. Punk is aggressive. Good punk is Sweet Jonny. Rooted in the basics, drawn out with honesty, and delivered with purpose Spanish Fly reinvigorated 2017 discoveries with a sneer and spit we came to love.

#8 The Rationales – Upstream
Boston is known for truly American rock and The Rationales have all the makings of someday joining that list. Subtle in the way they carry themselves, their execution in Upstream is anything but. The energy, personality, and sweet, sweet licks of this record proved to the world that The Rationales have figured out who they are. The results are fantastic.

#7 Ealdor Bealu – Dark Water at the Foot of the Mountain
The Dark Water at the Foot of the Mountain is deep and it is captivating. Humbly composed and executed with acute precision, Ealdor Bealu captured a highly personalized assembly of dark psych rock in a vastly stunning fashion.

#6 Curtis/Sutton & The Scavengers – Whiskey Rain
Harmonies that shouldn’t work mixed with roots firmly planted in Americana ended up forming one of the most entertaining albums of 2017. Boise’s Curtis/Sutton & The Scavengers matured into Whiskey Rain while proving looks can be deceiving.

#5 The Vacationist – Prime Colours/Bright NumbersCulminating in a ten-track ebb and flow built upon one-part electronic experimentation and one-part pop energy, Prime Colours/Bright Numbers is the ship that will guide the listener on a sonic journey that completely and utterly blew our minds in 2017.

#4 The Velvet Ants – Blacklight Press
Boston’s The Velvet Ants reached back into 90s glory with a fresh, and simultaneously familiar, sound that doesn’t seem like it would have much of an impact. Yet here we are, listening to Blacklight Press on repeat and still talking about it.

#3 King Khan – Murderburgers
Perfection is hard to achieve; and, arguably, subjective. We’re willing to bet King Khan would argue with you via dishing up a steaming plate of garage rock a la Murderburgers. If he won’t, we will. Murderburgers is the album 2017 needed and the album 2017 got. It is damn near perfect. You are welcome.

#2 Terra Lightfoot – New Mistakes
The music industry is swimming with so-called “Female Powerhouses”. While they are all lining up waiting for their 15 minutes of fame, Terra Lightfoot is playing loudly and proudly in the saloon across the street. She is a powerhouse on her own accord and New Mistakes is nothing short of stunning and remarkably refreshing. 2017 proved Terra Lightfoot may be trying to make new mistakes, but she’s achieving a hell of a sound.

#1 Lo Tom – Lo Tom
Proverbial super group and musical visionaries collected for the self-titled release in 2017. The ensuing record from the four horsemen of the Alt-pocalypse hand delivers the best record we heard in 2017. Lo Tom fires on all cylinders at all the right times. The planets must have aligned for this and we reaped the benefits.